Dating Apps and the Sale of Personal Information

A new report by the Norwegian Consumer Council found that 10 different personal and lifestyle apps – including OKCupid, Grindr, and Tinder – take the personal and sometimes intimate details of their users information and sell it in bulk to at least 135 identified, third-party companies.

From NPR:

“The data harvesting, according to the Norwegian government agency, appears to violate the European Union’s rules intended to protect people’s online data, known as the General Data Protection Regulation.

In the U.S., consumer groups are equally alarmed. The group urging regulators to act on the Norwegian study, led by government watchdog group Public Citizen, says Congress should use the findings as a roadmap to pass a new law patterned after Europe’s tough data privacy rules that took effect in 2018. “

And this data collection and sale can often occur, even if a user agreed to a Term of Use that did not make mention of it:

“Many app users, the study noted, never try to read or understand the privacy policies before using an app. But even if the policies are studied, the Norwegian researchers say the legalese-filled documents sometimes do not provide a complete picture of what is happening with a person’s personal information.

“If one actually attempts to read the privacy policy of any given app, the third parties who may receive personal data are often not mentioned by name. If the third parties are actually listed, the consumer then has to read the privacy policies of these third parties to understand how they may use the data,” the study says.

“In other words, it is practically impossible for the consumer to have even a basic overview of what and where their personal data might be transmitted, or how it is used, even from only a single app.”

The full report from the Norwegian Consumer Council can be found HERE.

As a reminder to our users, CourtTrax never has or ever will provide or sell users personal information to any outside interests.

If you have any questions about CourtTrax’s data privacy policies, or would like to know more about CourtTrax’s other products and services, please contact us at 866-643-7084 or customerservice@courttrax.com